Biomechanics and Safety Research - an overview of 20 years of research

Speaker: Andrew McIntosh

Affiliation: Australian Centre for Research into Sports Injuries and their Prevention (ACRISP) at Monash University

Time: Friday 16/09/2011 from 14:00 to 15:00

Venue: Access Grid UWS. Presented from Parramatta (EB.1.32), accessible from Campbelltown (26.1.50) and Penrith (Y239).

Abstract: The presentation will provide an overview of Dr. McIntosh's research in biomechanics and safety. Topics to be covered include: the mechanisms of traumatic brain injury and its prevention in sport and transport; gait; sports injury risk management; and, psycho-physical research on behavioural adaptatio in sport. The presentation will provide examples of how research methods and concepts from biomechanics, epidemiology, engineering and human factors have been brought together and applied. An emphasis will be given to his research on concussion in sport and recent research on motorcycle and bicycle helmet performance.

Biography: Dr. Andrew McIntosh (BAppSci (PT), MBiomedE, PhD) worked at the School of Risk and Safety Science from 1996 until it was closed recently. He undertook his doctorate at UNSW, with a secondment as a DAAD scholar to Heidelberg University. He taught into programs in the Faculties of Science, Engineering and Medicine. His expertise is in the disciplines of biomechanics and ergonomics/human factors. His main research interests are in the fields of safety, injury risk management and human movement. He has applied those interests in domains such as motor vehicles, two-wheelers, rail, sport and recreation. He has focussed on specific topics such as injury causation, head/neck injury, human gait, personal protective equipment, motor vehicle occupant safety and train driver safety systems. A strength of his research i its integrative approach, utilising methods from biomechanics, epidemiology, engineering and human factors. He is currently chief investigator on three AR funded projects and at the International Olympic Committee funded Australian Centre for Research into Sports Injuries and their Prevention (ACRISP) at Monash University. He is the Chair of the committee for AS/NZS 1698 (motorcycle helmets).